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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. net — in sport
  6. shower — to wash
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. mug — to rob
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. mug — a face
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rock — music
  15. rock — a stone
  16. wound — an injury
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. net — for catching
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mug — a cup
  21. net — after costs
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. rash — a series
  24. shower — rain

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com